EP2628921B1 - Exhaust control device for engine - Google Patents
Exhaust control device for engine Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2628921B1 EP2628921B1 EP13154782.0A EP13154782A EP2628921B1 EP 2628921 B1 EP2628921 B1 EP 2628921B1 EP 13154782 A EP13154782 A EP 13154782A EP 2628921 B1 EP2628921 B1 EP 2628921B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- exhaust
- engine
- exhaust valve
- exhaust valves
- valves
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 33
- 125000006850 spacer group Chemical group 0.000 description 6
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000010349 pulsation Effects 0.000 description 5
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000002828 fuel tank Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910000838 Al alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000006096 absorbing agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000002485 combustion reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000035939 shock Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001360 synchronised effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01N—GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F01N13/00—Exhaust or silencing apparatus characterised by constructional features ; Exhaust or silencing apparatus, or parts thereof, having pertinent characteristics not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01N1/00 - F01N5/00, F01N9/00, F01N11/00
- F01N13/08—Other arrangements or adaptations of exhaust conduits
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01N—GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F01N13/00—Exhaust or silencing apparatus characterised by constructional features ; Exhaust or silencing apparatus, or parts thereof, having pertinent characteristics not provided for in, or of interest apart from, groups F01N1/00 - F01N5/00, F01N9/00, F01N11/00
- F01N13/08—Other arrangements or adaptations of exhaust conduits
- F01N13/10—Other arrangements or adaptations of exhaust conduits of exhaust manifolds
- F01N13/107—More than one exhaust manifold or exhaust collector
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02D—CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F02D9/00—Controlling engines by throttling air or fuel-and-air induction conduits or exhaust conduits
- F02D9/04—Controlling engines by throttling air or fuel-and-air induction conduits or exhaust conduits concerning exhaust conduits
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01N—GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F01N2240/00—Combination or association of two or more different exhaust treating devices, or of at least one such device with an auxiliary device, not covered by indexing codes F01N2230/00 or F01N2250/00, one of the devices being
- F01N2240/36—Combination or association of two or more different exhaust treating devices, or of at least one such device with an auxiliary device, not covered by indexing codes F01N2230/00 or F01N2250/00, one of the devices being an exhaust flap
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01N—GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F01N2260/00—Exhaust treating devices having provisions not otherwise provided for
- F01N2260/14—Exhaust treating devices having provisions not otherwise provided for for modifying or adapting flow area or back-pressure
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F01—MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES
- F01N—GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
- F01N2590/00—Exhaust or silencing apparatus adapted to particular use, e.g. for military applications, airplanes, submarines
- F01N2590/04—Exhaust or silencing apparatus adapted to particular use, e.g. for military applications, airplanes, submarines for motorcycles
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an exhaust control device for an engine of a vehicle, for example, a motorcycle or the like, that performs exhaust control in an exhaust pipe to improve output.
- an exhaust control device is disposed which is configured such that an exhaust valve is provided along an exhaust pipe to open and close an exhaust path to improve the exhaust efficiency.
- an exhaust control valve is provided along an exhaust pipe to improve the exhaust performance.
- Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent No. 4015353
- an independent actuator is provided for control of driving each of the exhaust valves. Provision of a plurality of actuators as described above not only complicates the device structure but also greatly increases the cost.
- An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust control device for an engine that realizes an excellent control performance for an exhaust system while simplifying the structure in consideration of the above circumstances.
- An exhaust control device for an engine of the present invention is an exhaust control device for an engine that performs exhaust control of an exhaust system composed of exhaust pipes connected to a plurality of cylinders respectively and gathering to a collecting pipe, having at least two kinds of exhaust valves that perform the exhaust control at different parts in the exhaust system and driving the exhaust valves to open and close via a single actuator unit (11) comprising a plurality of communication pipes that communicate specified ones of the exhaust pipes, first exhaust valves attached to the communication pipes respectively and coaxially arranged, and controls opening/closing of the communication pipes, and a second exhaust valveattached to the collecting pipe and controls opening/closing of the collecting pipe, wherein the first exhaust valves and the second exhaust valve are set such that the first exhaust valves are closed and the second exhaust valve is opened to a half opening degree in an engine low rotation range, and the first exhaust valves and the second exhaust valve are set such that the first exhaust valves are closed and the second exhaust valve is opened to a fully opening in an engine medium rotation range, and the first valves and the second
- Fig. 1 is a side view of a motorcycle 100 according to the present invention. First, an entire structure of the motorcycle 100 will be described using Fig. 1 . Note that in the drawings including Fig. 1 used in the following explanation, as necessary, the front of a vehicle is indicated by an arrow Fr and the rear of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow Rr, respectively, and a lateral right side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow R, and a lateral left side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow L, respectively.
- a pair of right and left front forks 103 are provided that are supported to be turnable right and left by means of a steering head pipe 102.
- a handle bar 104 is fixed to upper ends of the front forks 103, and grips 105 are provided at both ends of the handle bar 104.
- a front wheel 106 is rotatably supported on lower portions of the front forks 103, and a front fender 107 is fixed to the lower portions of the front forks 103 so as to cover an upper portion of the front wheel 106.
- a brake disk 108 is additionally provided that rotates integrally with the front wheel 106.
- the main frame 101 is connected to a rear portion of the steering head pipe 102 and further branched into a pair of right and left parts in a two-pronged shape toward the rear, and each of the parts extends at a slant rearward and downward.
- Seat rails 101A extend at a moderate slant rearward and upward from the vicinity of the rear portions of the main frame 101 and support a later-described seat. Note that the main frame 101 and the seat rails 101A constitute a vehicle frame.
- swing arms 109 are coupled to rear portions of the main frame 101 in a swingable manner, and a rear shock absorber 110 is laid between the swing arms 109.
- a rear wheel 111 is rotatably supported on rear ends of the swing arms 109.
- the rear wheel 111 is configured to be rotationally driven via a driven sprocket 113 around which a chain 112 to transmit motive power of the later-described engine is wound.
- An inner fender 114 covering the vicinity of a front upper portion of the rear wheel 111 is provided closely around the rear wheel 111, and a rear fender 115 is disposed above the inner fender 114.
- An engine unit 116 (a broken line part in Fig. 1 ) mounted on the main frame 101 is supplied with an air-fuel mixture made by mixing fuel from a not-illustrated fuel supply system and air from an air cleaner.
- An exhaust gas after combustion in the engine is exhausted through an exhaust pipe 117.
- the engine may also be, for example, a four-cycle multicylinder, typically, a four-cylinder engine.
- the exhaust pipes 117 of the respective cylinders are coupled to one another on the lower side of the engine unit 116, and the exhaust gas is then exhausted from a muffler 118 supported in the vicinity of the rear portion on the right side of the vehicle.
- a fuel tank 119 is mounted above the engine unit 116, and a seat 120 is provided continuously to the rear of the fuel tank 119.
- the seat 120 includes a rider seat 120A and a tandem seat 120B. Foot rests 121 and foot rests or pillion steps 122 are disposed corresponding to the rider seat 120A and the tandem seat 120B. Note that in this example, on the left side of the vehicle, a not-illustrated prop stand is provided at a substantially middle lower portion in the front and rear direction.
- a numeral 123 denotes a head lamp
- a numeral 124 denotes a meter unit including a speedometer, a tachometer, various indicator lamps, and so on
- a numeral 125 denotes a rearview mirror supported on the handle bar 104 via a stay 126.
- a front portion and side portions of the vehicle are covered with a fairing 127 and side cowls 128, a rear portion of the vehicle is covered with a side cover or a seat cowl 129, so that the exterior members form an exterior form of the vehicle having a so-called streamlined shape.
- the fuel tank 119 in a dome shape or in a carapace shape as illustrated in Fig. 1 is mounted and supported on the main frame 101 in a manner to cover the whole upper side of the main frame 101 from above.
- an air cleaner 130 for supplying clean air to an intake system is disposed on the upper side of the engine unit 116. The air cleaned by the air cleaner 130 is taken in by the intake system and then mixed with fuel inside an intake pipe 131 as illustrated in Fig. 1 and then supplied as the air-fuel mixture to the engine unit 116.
- Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 illustrate a concrete structure example of the periphery of the engine unit 116 in this embodiment.
- a cylinder head 133 and a cylinder head cover 134 are sequentially coupled to the upper side of a cylinder block 132 that is disposed to incline forward, whereas a crankcase 135 is integrally coupled to the lower side of the cylinder block 132.
- an oil pan 13 is additionally provided at a bottom portion of the crankcase 135.
- the cylinder arrangement of the engine unit 116 is configured such that a #1 cylinder, a #2 cylinder, a #3 cylinder, and a #4 cylinder are arranged from left to right.
- the engine unit 116 is suspended from the main frame 101 via a plurality of engine mounts and thereby integrally coupled to the main frame 101 and functions as a rigid member of the main frame 101 in itself.
- the exhaust pipe 117 of the #1 cylinder and the exhaust pipe 117 of the #2 cylinder join together at a joint part 137
- the exhaust pipe 117 of the #3 cylinder and the exhaust pipe 117 of the #4 cylinder join together at a joint part 138
- the joint part 137 and the joint part 138 further join to each other, whereby the four exhaust pipes 117 of the #1 to #4 cylinders collect at a single collecting pipe 139 at a substantially lower left of the oil pan 136.
- the collecting pipe 139 is connected to the muffler 118 via a connection pipe 140.
- an exhaust valve relating to the exhaust control device of the present invention is attached to the collecting pipe 139.
- the communication pipe 141 is horizontally laid on the back side of the exhaust pipes 117 on both right and left ends.
- the exhaust pipes 117 (117B, 117C) of the #2 and #3 cylinders communicate with each other via a communication pipe 142.
- the communication pipe 142 is laid to be sandwiched between the exhaust pipes 117 of the #2 and #3 cylinders and is disposed to be located diagonally above and in front of the communication pipe 141.
- the exhaust valves relating to the exhaust control device of the present invention are attached to the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142.
- An exhaust system from the exhaust pipes 117 (117A to 117D) to the muffler 118 via the joint part 137 and the joint part 138 and then via the collecting pipe 139 and the connection pipe 140 is configured as described above.
- the exhaust control device 10 is provided.
- the exhaust control device 10 has at least two kinds of exhaust valves performing exhaust control at different parts in the exhaust system, and a single actuator drives the exhaust valves to open and close.
- Fig. 4 illustrates a concrete structure example of the exhaust control device 10.
- parts to which the present invention is applied are the exhaust pipes 117 and the collecting pipe 139, and an actuator unit 11 performing the exhaust control on the parts is provided.
- the actuator unit 11 uses the main frame 101, more specifically, the main frame 101 on the left side also illustrated in Fig. 3 and is mounted and supported on the main frame 101 on the left side.
- the actuator unit 11 has a drive part 12 and drives the exhaust valves which are controlled objects that are connected to the drive part 12 via wires 13, 14 respectively.
- exhaust valves 15 first exhaust valves
- an exhaust valve 16 second exhaust valve
- rotational driving of the exhaust valves 15 enables control of opening/closing of the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142.
- the communication pipe 141 is schematically illustrated in Fig. 4 .
- rotational driving of the exhaust valve 16 enables control of opening/closing of the collecting pipe 139.
- Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an essential part of the actuator unit 11
- Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the essential part
- Fig. 7 is a plan view of the essential part
- Fig. 8 is a front view in an arrow C direction in Fig. 7 .
- the actuator unit 11 has, on a base 17, a first pulley 18 and a second pulley 19 supported to be rotatable around a rotation axis Z as will be described later, so that the wires 13, 14 are wound by the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19.
- the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 have guide grooves 18a, 19a formed on outer peripheral parts thereof for winding the wires 13, 14 thereon.
- the base 17 has an actuator 20 that reciprocally rotates like a double-headed arrow in Fig. 6 .
- the actuator 20 is rotationally driven by, for example, a stepping motor 21 that is a drive source as illustrated in Fig. 8 in predetermined timing, direction and amount (angle).
- a guide shaft 22 is projectingly provided so that the second pulley 19 is rotatable around the guide shaft 22 on the stepped part 20a.
- a spacer 23 is coaxially and integrally coupled with the actuator 20.
- an engaging projection 23b of the spacer 23 engages with an engaging groove 22a of the guide shaft 22 so that the spacer 23 is rotationally driven by the actuator 20.
- a guide shaft 24 is projectingly provided so that the first pulley 18 is rotatable around the guide shaft 24 on the stepped part 23a.
- a bolt 25 with a washer 26 is screwed into the guide shaft 24, whereby the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 are coaxially held.
- the two first pulley 18 and second pulley 19 are mounted on the single actuator 20 as described above and thereby enable control the two exhaust valves 15 and the exhaust valve 16.
- a torsion spring 27 is attached to the outer periphery of the spacer 23 so that the resilient force of the torsion spring 27 urges the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 in predetermined directions as will be described later.
- a projection 28 is projected, and one end 27a of the torsion spring 27 comes into press contact with the projection 28.
- a projection 29 is projected, and another end 27b of the torsion spring 27 comes into press contact with the projection 29.
- the torsion spring 27 is attached so that the one end 27a and the other end 27b have habits in directions of winding each other and hold the two projections 28, 29 therebetween from outside to urge them to approach each other.
- a stopper 30 in a bar shape located outside the outer peripheral portions of the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 is standingly provided on the base 17. Further, at the outer peripheral portions of the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19, small projection pieces 31, 32 are additionally provided to project in a radial direction. The small projection pieces 31, 32 come into contact with the stopper 30 as illustrated in Fig. 7 , whereby the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 urged as described above by the resilient force of the torsion spring 27 via the projections 28, 29 are positioned and fixed in the rotation direction, which is regarded as a home position HP. Further, the torsion spring 27 restricts the relative rotation between the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 so as to synchronize the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19, at all times of rotation thereof, with the actuator 20.
- an arm 33 for transmitting the rotation force of the actuator 20 to the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 extends to positions corresponding to the projections 28, 29.
- the arm 33 is formed in a rod shape having a length corresponding to the interval between the projection 28 and the projection 29 in Z-direction of the rotation shaft, and can come into contact with both the projections 28, 29.
- Each of the wire 13 and the wire 14 wound around the first pulley 18 and the second pulley 19 respectively is constituted of two wires making a set.
- terminals 34 of the wires 13 are held in lock holes 35 of the first pulley 18, and terminals 36 of the wires 14 are held in lock holes 37 in the second pulley 19.
- the wires 13 and the wires 14 are configured such that when one of the wires making the set is wound, the other wire is reeled out.
- the exhaust valves 15 are attached to the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142, and the exhaust valve 16 is attached to the collecting pipe 139.
- the wires 13 connected to the actuator unit 11 are routed to a distribution part of the exhaust valve 15 as illustrated also in Fig. 9
- the wires 14 are routed to a distribution part of the exhaust valve 16.
- a coupling pipe 38 is provided between the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142 as illustrated in Fig. 10
- a rotation shaft 39 is rotatably supported in the coupling pipe 38.
- the exhaust valves 15 attached to the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142 respectively are mounted on the rotation shaft 39.
- the two exhaust valves 15 are coaxially arranged and supported by the single rotation shaft 39 and operate at synchronous timing.
- a driven pulley 40 is mounted on one end side thereof, that is, the communication pipe 141 side in this example, and the driven pulley 40 is rotationally controlled by the operation of the actuator unit 11.
- other terminals 41 of the wires 13 are held in lock holes (not illustrated) of the driven pulley 40 as illustrated in Fig. 11 .
- a return spring 42 is incidental to the driven pulley 40 and its resilient force urges the rotation shaft 39 in a direction of closing the exhaust valves 15.
- the exhaust valve 16 attached to the collecting pipe 139 is rotatably supported on a rotation shaft 43 as illustrated in Fig. 9 .
- a driven pulley 44 is mounted on one end side thereof (see also Fig. 12 ), and the driven pulley 44 is rotationally controlled by the operation of the actuator unit 11.
- other terminals 45 of the wires 14 are held in lock holes (not illustrated) of the driven pulley 44 as illustrated in Fig. 12 .
- a return spring 46 is incidental to the driven pulley 44 and its resilient force urges the rotation shaft 43 in a direction of closing the exhaust valve 16.
- the actuator unit 11 in particular, the stepping motor 21 that is the drive source thereof is connected to an in-vehicle CPU (not illustrated).
- the stepping motor 21 is controlled by the CPU in relation to an engine rotation number and the like.
- the actuator 20 rotates in a plus (+) or minus (-) direction from the home position HP.
- the arm 33 comes into contact with the projection 28 of the first pulley 18 and rotates the first pulley 18 in the plus direction against the resilient force of the torsion spring 27, that is, the resilient force received from the one end 27a of the torsion spring 27.
- the driven pulley 40 is rotated via the wires 13, and when the actuator 20 rotates in the plus direction by an angle ⁇ , the two exhaust valves 15 of the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142 are fully opened at the same time.
- the exhaust valves 15 are in a fully closed state with an opening degree of 0% at the home position HP as illustrated in Fig. 13B , and when the angle ⁇ is reached by rotation of the first pulley 18 in the plus direction as described above, the exhaust valves 15 are fully opened, namely, set to an opening degree of 100% at the same time. In a range in the minus direction from the home position HP of the actuator 20, the exhaust valves 15 are kept in the fully closed state with the opening degree of 0%.
- the minimum opening degree of the exhaust valve 16 of the collecting pipe 139 is set to a predetermined opening degree.
- the minimum opening degree is different depending on the engine specifications and the like and has a degree of freedom to some extent, but is set to an opening degree of X% as illustrated in Fig. 14B .
- the exhaust valve 16 is set to the opening degree of X%, and when the actuator 20 rotates in the plus direction from the angle of - ⁇ , the exhaust valve 16 is fully opened, namely, set to an opening degree of 100% at the home position HP.
- an engine output (PS) changes according to the engine rotation number (low speed range I, medium speed range II, and high speed range III) (Ne), for example, as in the example illustrated in Fig. 15A .
- the actuator 20 is driven to open and close the exhaust valves 15 and the exhaust valve 16.
- Fig. 15B illustrates the relation between the engine rotation number and the opening degree of the exhaust valves 15
- Fig. 15C illustrates the relation between the engine rotation number and the opening degree of the exhaust valve 16.
- the actuator 20 takes an operation start point in a range in the minus direction from the home position HP, and the exhaust valves 15 are first in the fully closed state as illustrated in Fig. 15B .
- the exhaust valve 16 initially has the opening degree of X%, so that the output can be effectively improved by keeping the exhaust valve 16 not fully opened.
- the actuator 20 rotates in the plus direction, whereby the exhaust valve 16 starts to open from the opening degree of X% and fully opens into the opening degree of 100% at the time when the second pulley 19 reaches the home position HP.
- the actuator 20 further rotates in the plus direction, but the second pulley 19 is restricted in rotation because its small projection piece 32 comes into contact with the stopper 30, and the exhaust valve 16 is thus kept in the fully opened state at the home position HP.
- the exhaust valves 15 are kept in the fully closed state as illustrated in Fig. 15B .
- the engine is set in a normal rotation number range in the medium speed range II, so that the exhaust valves 15 are fully closed and the exhaust valve 16 is fully opened in the medium speed range II to effectively improve the output.
- the actuator 20 rotates in the plus direction from the home position HP, but the second pulley 19 is kept at the home position HP by restriction of the rotation thereof.
- the first pulley 18 is urged by the arm 33 to rotate in the plus direction against the resilient force of the torsion spring 27.
- the exhaust valves 15 start to open from the fully closed state and become the fully opened state at a rotation angle of + ⁇ as illustrated in Fig. 15B .
- the exhaust valve 16 is kept in the fully opened state also in the high speed range III as illustrated in Fig. 15C .
- the engine rotation number shifting from the medium speed range II to the high speed range III is about 4000 rpm though depending on the type and so on of the motorcycle 100.
- the actuator 20 when the engine rotation shifts from the high speed range III to the medium speed range II and further to the low speed range I, the actuator 20 operates in the reverse procedure to that of the above-described operation. In short, the actuator 20 located on the side in the plus direction of the home position rotates in the minus direction.
- the exhaust valves 15 attached to the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142 and the exhaust valve 16 attached to the collecting pipe 139 are controlled to open and close by the actuator 20.
- the exhaust control device 10 is structured such that two controlled object parts are not independently controlled but the two kinds of exhaust valve 15 and exhaust valve 16 are controlled by the single actuator 20 as described above, thereby enabling reduction in the number of components in the device to simplify the device structure and reduction in cost.
- the exhaust valves 15 attached to the communication pipe 141 and the communication pipe 142 are actually controlled to open and close in the high speed range III of the engine, so that the exhaust pulsation at the engine high rotation can be effectively utilized. Further, in that case, the exhaust valves 15 attached to the communication pipe 141 communicating the #1 and #4 cylinders and to the communication pipe 142 communicating the #2 and #3 cylinders respectively are coaxially arranged. This makes it possible to actually improve the output while effectively utilizing the exhaust pulsation at the engine high rotation.
- the exhaust valve 16 attached to the collecting pipe 139 is controlled to open and close from the low speed range I to the medium speed range II. This makes it possible to reduce exhaust resistance at the engine low rotation while effectively controlling the exhaust pulsation.
- the actuator 20 operates the exhaust valves 15 in one rotational operation range (on the side in the minus direction) and operates the exhaust valve 16 in the other rotational operation range (on the side in the plus direction).
- the single actuator 20 can appropriately and smoothly control the two kinds of controlled objects in an independent manner.
- the rotation angle of the actuator 20 is controlled according to the engine rotation number as has already been described, whereby the exhaust valves 15 are closed and the exhaust valve 16 is opened to a predetermined opening degree at the engine low rotation.
- the exhaust valves 15 are closed, the exhaust pulsation at the low rotation is made appropriate to improve the output at low speed.
- the exhaust valves 15 and the exhaust valve 16 are fully opened, thereby improving the reduction in exhaust pressure and making the exhaust pulsation comply with the high rotation range to improve the output.
- the actuator unit 11 is disposed on a side surface part of the main frame 101 as illustrated in Fig. 2 or Fig. 3 but may also be arranged such that the wire 13 and the wire 14 have substantially equal lengths as in Fig. 4 as another example. More specifically, the lengths of the wire 13 and the wire 14 can be made shortest by making distances A, B between the exhaust valve 15 and the exhaust valve 16 that are the connection destinations of the wire 13 and the wire 14 and the actuator unit 11 substantially equidistant as illustrated in Fig. 4 . Then, the short lengths of the wire 13 and the wire 14 make the winding and reeling-out operations more smooth and reduce the device in weight.
- the reeling-out directions of the wires 13, 14 connected to the actuator unit 11 may be the same direction or different directions from each other.
- the wires 13, 14 are reeled out from the actuator unit 11 in substantially the same direction in the exemplified example in Fig. 2 .
- the wire 14 connected to the exhaust valve 16 may be laid from the actuator unit 11 to the rear along the main frame 101 as illustrated in Fig. 4 . The laying makes the wire 14 have an appropriate short length and is extremely advantageous in terms of layout.
- the opening degree of the exhaust valves 15 or the exhaust valve 16 is controlled according to the engine rotation number.
- the opening and closing speed when opening and closing the exhaust valves 15 and the exhaust valve 16 corresponds to the angle of gradient of a graph in the exemplified example in Figs. 15A to 15C and the like, but the speed-up and speed-down can also be appropriately adjusted by drive control of the stepping motor 21 by the actuator 20.
- the opening and closing timings of the exhaust valves 15 and the exhaust valve 16 can also be set as necessary.
- the opening degrees may also be changed in a curved shape as a changed form, including the case where the opening degrees are linearly changed as in the exemplified example in Figs. 15A to 15C and the like.
- the exhaust control device of the present , invention is applicable to a multicylinder engine with two cylinders or four cylinders or more.
- the exhaust control device is structured such that exhaust valves which are controlled object parts to be controlled to open and close are not independently controlled but controlled by a single actuator, thereby enabling reduction in the number of components in the device to simplify the device structure and reduction in cost.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Characterised By The Charging Evacuation (AREA)
- Exhaust Silencers (AREA)
Description
- This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No.
2012-029898, filed on February 14, 2012 - The present invention relates to an exhaust control device for an engine of a vehicle, for example, a motorcycle or the like, that performs exhaust control in an exhaust pipe to improve output.
- In a vehicle of this kind, an exhaust control device is disposed which is configured such that an exhaust valve is provided along an exhaust pipe to open and close an exhaust path to improve the exhaust efficiency. The one in which an exhaust control valve is provided along an exhaust pipe to improve the exhaust performance is disclosed, for example, in
Patent Document 1. - It is also possible to provide, along the exhaust pipe in the motorcycle or the like, two exhaust valves that operate in different rotation ranges of the engine. Conventionally, when two exhaust valves are provided as described above, the exhaust valves are usually driven by electronically controlled actuators respectively. Thus, it becomes possible to perform more appropriate exhaust control of the two exhaust valves according to the engine rotation number.
- Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No.
4015353 - Conventionally, in the case where two exhaust valves are provided, for example, as in the above example, an independent actuator is provided for control of driving each of the exhaust valves. Provision of a plurality of actuators as described above not only complicates the device structure but also greatly increases the cost.
- An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust control device for an engine that realizes an excellent control performance for an exhaust system while simplifying the structure in consideration of the above circumstances.
- An exhaust control device for an engine of the present invention is an exhaust control device for an engine that performs exhaust control of an exhaust system composed of exhaust pipes connected to a plurality of cylinders respectively and gathering to a collecting pipe, having at least two kinds of exhaust valves that perform the exhaust control at different parts in the exhaust system and driving the exhaust valves to open and close via a single actuator unit (11) comprising a plurality of communication pipes that communicate specified ones of the exhaust pipes, first exhaust valves attached to the communication pipes respectively and coaxially arranged, and controls opening/closing of the communication pipes, and a second exhaust valveattached to the collecting pipe and controls opening/closing of the collecting pipe, wherein
the first exhaust valves and the second exhaust valve are set such that the first exhaust valves are closed and the second exhaust valve is opened to a half opening degree in an engine low rotation range, and the first exhaust valves and the second exhaust valve are set such that the first exhaust valves are closed and the second exhaust valve is opened to a fully opening in an engine medium rotation range, and the first valves and the second exhaust valve are set such that the second exhaust valve is operated and the first exhaust valves are fully opened in an engine high rotation range. -
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Fig. 1 is a side view illustrating the entire structure of a motorcycle according to the present invention; -
Fig. 2 is a side view illustrating a concrete structure example of the periphery of an engine unit in an embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 3 is a front view illustrating the concrete structure example of the periphery of the engine unit in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 4 is a side view illustrating a concrete structure example of an exhaust control device in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an essential part of an actuator unit in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator unit in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the actuator unit in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 8 is a front view in an arrow C direction inFig. 7 ; -
Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of objects controlled by the exhaust control device in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 10 is a perspective view illustrating an example of one of the objects controlled by the exhaust control device in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of one of the objects controlled by the exhaust control device in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the other of the objects controlled by the exhaust control device in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Figs. 13A and 13B are a plan view illustrating an operation example of the actuator relating to one exhaust valve and a diagram illustrating a valve opening degree change in the embodiment of the present invention; -
Figs. 14A and 14B are a plan view illustrating an operation example of the actuator relating to the other exhaust valve and a diagram illustrating a valve opening degree change in the embodiment of the present invention; and -
Figs. 15A to 15C are diagrams illustrating the relation between an engine rotation number and an output characteristic and the relations between an engine rotation number and valve opening degrees in the embodiment of the present invention respectively. - Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an exhaust control device for an engine according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
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Fig. 1 is a side view of amotorcycle 100 according to the present invention. First, an entire structure of themotorcycle 100 will be described usingFig. 1 . Note that in the drawings includingFig. 1 used in the following explanation, as necessary, the front of a vehicle is indicated by an arrow Fr and the rear of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow Rr, respectively, and a lateral right side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow R, and a lateral left side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow L, respectively. - In
Fig. 1 , at a front portion of amain frame 101 made of steel or an aluminum alloy material, a pair of right and leftfront forks 103 are provided that are supported to be turnable right and left by means of asteering head pipe 102. Ahandle bar 104 is fixed to upper ends of thefront forks 103, and grips 105 are provided at both ends of thehandle bar 104. Afront wheel 106 is rotatably supported on lower portions of thefront forks 103, and afront fender 107 is fixed to the lower portions of thefront forks 103 so as to cover an upper portion of thefront wheel 106. To thefront wheel 106, abrake disk 108 is additionally provided that rotates integrally with thefront wheel 106. - The
main frame 101 is connected to a rear portion of thesteering head pipe 102 and further branched into a pair of right and left parts in a two-pronged shape toward the rear, and each of the parts extends at a slant rearward and downward.Seat rails 101A extend at a moderate slant rearward and upward from the vicinity of the rear portions of themain frame 101 and support a later-described seat. Note that themain frame 101 and the seat rails 101A constitute a vehicle frame. Further, swingarms 109 are coupled to rear portions of themain frame 101 in a swingable manner, and arear shock absorber 110 is laid between theswing arms 109. Arear wheel 111 is rotatably supported on rear ends of theswing arms 109. Therear wheel 111 is configured to be rotationally driven via a drivensprocket 113 around which achain 112 to transmit motive power of the later-described engine is wound. Aninner fender 114 covering the vicinity of a front upper portion of therear wheel 111 is provided closely around therear wheel 111, and arear fender 115 is disposed above theinner fender 114. - An engine unit 116 (a broken line part in
Fig. 1 ) mounted on themain frame 101 is supplied with an air-fuel mixture made by mixing fuel from a not-illustrated fuel supply system and air from an air cleaner. An exhaust gas after combustion in the engine is exhausted through anexhaust pipe 117. In this embodiment, the engine may also be, for example, a four-cycle multicylinder, typically, a four-cylinder engine. Theexhaust pipes 117 of the respective cylinders are coupled to one another on the lower side of theengine unit 116, and the exhaust gas is then exhausted from amuffler 118 supported in the vicinity of the rear portion on the right side of the vehicle. - Further, a
fuel tank 119 is mounted above theengine unit 116, and aseat 120 is provided continuously to the rear of thefuel tank 119. Theseat 120 includes arider seat 120A and atandem seat 120B. Foot rests 121 and foot rests orpillion steps 122 are disposed corresponding to therider seat 120A and thetandem seat 120B. Note that in this example, on the left side of the vehicle, a not-illustrated prop stand is provided at a substantially middle lower portion in the front and rear direction. - Further, in
Fig. 1 , a numeral 123 denotes a head lamp, a numeral 124 denotes a meter unit including a speedometer, a tachometer, various indicator lamps, and so on, and a numeral 125 denotes a rearview mirror supported on thehandle bar 104 via astay 126. - As for the exterior of the vehicle, mainly a front portion and side portions of the vehicle are covered with a
fairing 127 andside cowls 128, a rear portion of the vehicle is covered with a side cover or aseat cowl 129, so that the exterior members form an exterior form of the vehicle having a so-called streamlined shape. - Note that the
fuel tank 119 in a dome shape or in a carapace shape as illustrated inFig. 1 is mounted and supported on themain frame 101 in a manner to cover the whole upper side of themain frame 101 from above. Further, anair cleaner 130 for supplying clean air to an intake system is disposed on the upper side of theengine unit 116. The air cleaned by theair cleaner 130 is taken in by the intake system and then mixed with fuel inside anintake pipe 131 as illustrated inFig. 1 and then supplied as the air-fuel mixture to theengine unit 116. - Next,
Fig. 2 andFig. 3 illustrate a concrete structure example of the periphery of theengine unit 116 in this embodiment. In this example, in theengine unit 116 with parallel four cylinders, acylinder head 133 and acylinder head cover 134 are sequentially coupled to the upper side of acylinder block 132 that is disposed to incline forward, whereas acrankcase 135 is integrally coupled to the lower side of thecylinder block 132. Further, anoil pan 13 is additionally provided at a bottom portion of thecrankcase 135. Note that the cylinder arrangement of theengine unit 116 is configured such that a #1 cylinder, a #2 cylinder, a #3 cylinder, and a #4 cylinder are arranged from left to right. Theengine unit 116 is suspended from themain frame 101 via a plurality of engine mounts and thereby integrally coupled to themain frame 101 and functions as a rigid member of themain frame 101 in itself. - Here, the
exhaust pipe 117 of the #1 cylinder and theexhaust pipe 117 of the #2 cylinder join together at ajoint part 137, and theexhaust pipe 117 of the #3 cylinder and theexhaust pipe 117 of the #4 cylinder join together at ajoint part 138. Thejoint part 137 and thejoint part 138 further join to each other, whereby the fourexhaust pipes 117 of the #1 to #4 cylinders collect at asingle collecting pipe 139 at a substantially lower left of theoil pan 136. The collectingpipe 139 is connected to themuffler 118 via aconnection pipe 140. As will be described later, an exhaust valve relating to the exhaust control device of the present invention is attached to the collectingpipe 139. - Further, the exhaust pipes 117 (117A, 117D) on both right and left ends of the #1 and #4 cylinders communicate with each other via a
communication pipe 141. Thecommunication pipe 141 is horizontally laid on the back side of theexhaust pipes 117 on both right and left ends. The exhaust pipes 117 (117B, 117C) of the #2 and #3 cylinders communicate with each other via acommunication pipe 142. Thecommunication pipe 142 is laid to be sandwiched between theexhaust pipes 117 of the #2 and #3 cylinders and is disposed to be located diagonally above and in front of thecommunication pipe 141. As will be described later, the exhaust valves relating to the exhaust control device of the present invention are attached to thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142. - An exhaust system from the exhaust pipes 117 (117A to 117D) to the
muffler 118 via thejoint part 137 and thejoint part 138 and then via the collectingpipe 139 and theconnection pipe 140 is configured as described above. To perform exhaust control of the exhaust system, theexhaust control device 10 is provided. Theexhaust control device 10 has at least two kinds of exhaust valves performing exhaust control at different parts in the exhaust system, and a single actuator drives the exhaust valves to open and close. -
Fig. 4 illustrates a concrete structure example of theexhaust control device 10. In this embodiment, parts to which the present invention is applied are theexhaust pipes 117 and the collectingpipe 139, and anactuator unit 11 performing the exhaust control on the parts is provided. In this example, theactuator unit 11 uses themain frame 101, more specifically, themain frame 101 on the left side also illustrated inFig. 3 and is mounted and supported on themain frame 101 on the left side. Theactuator unit 11 has adrive part 12 and drives the exhaust valves which are controlled objects that are connected to thedrive part 12 viawires communication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 and an exhaust valve 16 (second exhaust valve) attached to the collectingpipe 139 are arranged. Though detailed illustration of theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16 themselves are omitted inFig. 4 , rotational driving of theexhaust valves 15 enables control of opening/closing of thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142. Note that thecommunication pipe 141 is schematically illustrated inFig. 4 . Further, rotational driving of theexhaust valve 16 enables control of opening/closing of the collectingpipe 139. - Further, the
actuator unit 11 will be concretely described.Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an essential part of theactuator unit 11,Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the essential part,Fig. 7 is a plan view of the essential part, andFig. 8 is a front view in an arrow C direction inFig. 7 . Theactuator unit 11 has, on abase 17, afirst pulley 18 and asecond pulley 19 supported to be rotatable around a rotation axis Z as will be described later, so that thewires first pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19. Thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 haveguide grooves wires base 17 has anactuator 20 that reciprocally rotates like a double-headed arrow inFig. 6 . Theactuator 20 is rotationally driven by, for example, a steppingmotor 21 that is a drive source as illustrated inFig. 8 in predetermined timing, direction and amount (angle). At a steppedpart 20a of theactuator 20, aguide shaft 22 is projectingly provided so that thesecond pulley 19 is rotatable around theguide shaft 22 on the steppedpart 20a. - A
spacer 23 is coaxially and integrally coupled with theactuator 20. In this case, an engagingprojection 23b of thespacer 23 engages with an engaginggroove 22a of theguide shaft 22 so that thespacer 23 is rotationally driven by theactuator 20. At a steppedpart 23a of thespacer 23, aguide shaft 24 is projectingly provided so that thefirst pulley 18 is rotatable around theguide shaft 24 on the steppedpart 23a. Abolt 25 with awasher 26 is screwed into theguide shaft 24, whereby thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 are coaxially held. The twofirst pulley 18 andsecond pulley 19 are mounted on thesingle actuator 20 as described above and thereby enable control the twoexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16. - A
torsion spring 27 is attached to the outer periphery of thespacer 23 so that the resilient force of thetorsion spring 27 urges thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 in predetermined directions as will be described later. On a surface of thefirst pulley 18 on the side facing thetorsion spring 27, aprojection 28 is projected, and oneend 27a of thetorsion spring 27 comes into press contact with theprojection 28. Further, on a surface of thesecond pulley 19 on the side facing thetorsion spring 27, aprojection 29 is projected, and anotherend 27b of thetorsion spring 27 comes into press contact with theprojection 29. Thetorsion spring 27 is attached so that the oneend 27a and theother end 27b have habits in directions of winding each other and hold the twoprojections - On the other hand, a
stopper 30 in a bar shape located outside the outer peripheral portions of thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 is standingly provided on thebase 17. Further, at the outer peripheral portions of thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19,small projection pieces small projection pieces stopper 30 as illustrated inFig. 7 , whereby thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 urged as described above by the resilient force of thetorsion spring 27 via theprojections torsion spring 27 restricts the relative rotation between thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 so as to synchronize thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19, at all times of rotation thereof, with theactuator 20. - At the home position HP, the
first pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 are restricted in position by thestopper 30 as described above, whereby theprojection 28 and theprojection 29 do not approach any further but are held at a predetermined interval. At thespacer 23, anarm 33 for transmitting the rotation force of theactuator 20 to thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 extends to positions corresponding to theprojections arm 33 is formed in a rod shape having a length corresponding to the interval between theprojection 28 and theprojection 29 in Z-direction of the rotation shaft, and can come into contact with both theprojections - Each of the
wire 13 and thewire 14 wound around thefirst pulley 18 and thesecond pulley 19 respectively is constituted of two wires making a set. In this case,terminals 34 of thewires 13 are held in lock holes 35 of thefirst pulley 18, andterminals 36 of thewires 14 are held in lock holes 37 in thesecond pulley 19. Thewires 13 and thewires 14 are configured such that when one of the wires making the set is wound, the other wire is reeled out. - As described above, the
exhaust valves 15 are attached to thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142, and theexhaust valve 16 is attached to the collectingpipe 139. Thewires 13 connected to theactuator unit 11 are routed to a distribution part of theexhaust valve 15 as illustrated also inFig. 9 , and thewires 14 are routed to a distribution part of theexhaust valve 16. First, describing theexhaust valve 15 side, a coupling pipe 38 is provided between thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 as illustrated inFig. 10 , and arotation shaft 39 is rotatably supported in the coupling pipe 38. Theexhaust valves 15 attached to thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 respectively are mounted on therotation shaft 39. In other words, the twoexhaust valves 15 are coaxially arranged and supported by thesingle rotation shaft 39 and operate at synchronous timing. Though the detailed illustration of therotation shaft 39 is omitted, a drivenpulley 40 is mounted on one end side thereof, that is, thecommunication pipe 141 side in this example, and the drivenpulley 40 is rotationally controlled by the operation of theactuator unit 11. Note thatother terminals 41 of thewires 13 are held in lock holes (not illustrated) of the drivenpulley 40 as illustrated inFig. 11 . Further, areturn spring 42 is incidental to the drivenpulley 40 and its resilient force urges therotation shaft 39 in a direction of closing theexhaust valves 15. - The
exhaust valve 16 attached to the collectingpipe 139 is rotatably supported on arotation shaft 43 as illustrated inFig. 9 . Though the detailed illustration of therotation shaft 43 is omitted, a drivenpulley 44 is mounted on one end side thereof (see alsoFig. 12 ), and the drivenpulley 44 is rotationally controlled by the operation of theactuator unit 11. Note thatother terminals 45 of thewires 14 are held in lock holes (not illustrated) of the drivenpulley 44 as illustrated inFig. 12 . Further, areturn spring 46 is incidental to the drivenpulley 44 and its resilient force urges therotation shaft 43 in a direction of closing theexhaust valve 16. - In the above case, the
actuator unit 11, in particular, the steppingmotor 21 that is the drive source thereof is connected to an in-vehicle CPU (not illustrated). The steppingmotor 21 is controlled by the CPU in relation to an engine rotation number and the like. - Next, a concrete example of exhaust control by the
exhaust control device 10 of the present invention will be described. Here, the relation between the rotation angle of theactuator 20 and the opening degree of theexhaust valve 15 or theexhaust valve 16 will be described first. Theactuator 20 rotates in a plus (+) or minus (-) direction from the home position HP. In the case of theexhaust valve 15, when the steppingmotor 21 of theactuator unit 11 operates and theactuator 20 rotates in the plus direction as illustrated inFig. 13A from the home position HP, thearm 33 comes into contact with theprojection 28 of thefirst pulley 18 and rotates thefirst pulley 18 in the plus direction against the resilient force of thetorsion spring 27, that is, the resilient force received from the oneend 27a of thetorsion spring 27. According to the rotation of thefirst pulley 18, the drivenpulley 40 is rotated via thewires 13, and when theactuator 20 rotates in the plus direction by an angle θ, the twoexhaust valves 15 of thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 are fully opened at the same time. - The
exhaust valves 15 are in a fully closed state with an opening degree of 0% at the home position HP as illustrated inFig. 13B , and when the angle θ is reached by rotation of thefirst pulley 18 in the plus direction as described above, theexhaust valves 15 are fully opened, namely, set to an opening degree of 100% at the same time. In a range in the minus direction from the home position HP of theactuator 20, theexhaust valves 15 are kept in the fully closed state with the opening degree of 0%. - On the other hand, the minimum opening degree of the
exhaust valve 16 of the collectingpipe 139 is set to a predetermined opening degree. The minimum opening degree is different depending on the engine specifications and the like and has a degree of freedom to some extent, but is set to an opening degree of X% as illustrated inFig. 14B . In the relation to the rotation angle of theactuator 20, when theactuator 20 rotates in the minus direction from the home position HP by an angle of - θ as illustrated inFig. 14A , theexhaust valve 16 is set to the opening degree of X%, and when theactuator 20 rotates in the plus direction from the angle of - θ, theexhaust valve 16 is fully opened, namely, set to an opening degree of 100% at the home position HP. - With respect to the rotation angle of the
actuator 20, the two kinds ofexhaust valve 15 andexhaust valve 16 can be controlled to open and close as described above. More concretely describing in the relation to the engine rotation number here, first, an engine output (PS) changes according to the engine rotation number (low speed range I, medium speed range II, and high speed range III) (Ne), for example, as in the example illustrated inFig. 15A . In accordance with the engine output characteristics, theactuator 20 is driven to open and close theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16.Fig. 15B illustrates the relation between the engine rotation number and the opening degree of theexhaust valves 15, andFig. 15C illustrates the relation between the engine rotation number and the opening degree of theexhaust valve 16. - In the low speed range I of the engine rotation, the
actuator 20 takes an operation start point in a range in the minus direction from the home position HP, and theexhaust valves 15 are first in the fully closed state as illustrated inFig. 15B . On the other hand, theexhaust valve 16 initially has the opening degree of X%, so that the output can be effectively improved by keeping theexhaust valve 16 not fully opened. Theactuator 20 rotates in the plus direction, whereby theexhaust valve 16 starts to open from the opening degree of X% and fully opens into the opening degree of 100% at the time when thesecond pulley 19 reaches the home position HP. - In the medium speed range II of the engine rotation, the
actuator 20 further rotates in the plus direction, but thesecond pulley 19 is restricted in rotation because itssmall projection piece 32 comes into contact with thestopper 30, and theexhaust valve 16 is thus kept in the fully opened state at the home position HP. On the other hand, theexhaust valves 15 are kept in the fully closed state as illustrated inFig. 15B . Generally, the engine is set in a normal rotation number range in the medium speed range II, so that theexhaust valves 15 are fully closed and theexhaust valve 16 is fully opened in the medium speed range II to effectively improve the output. - Further, in the high speed range III of the engine rotation, the
actuator 20 rotates in the plus direction from the home position HP, but thesecond pulley 19 is kept at the home position HP by restriction of the rotation thereof. Thefirst pulley 18 is urged by thearm 33 to rotate in the plus direction against the resilient force of thetorsion spring 27. In other words, theexhaust valves 15 start to open from the fully closed state and become the fully opened state at a rotation angle of + θ as illustrated inFig. 15B . Theexhaust valve 16 is kept in the fully opened state also in the high speed range III as illustrated inFig. 15C . Note that the engine rotation number shifting from the medium speed range II to the high speed range III is about 4000 rpm though depending on the type and so on of themotorcycle 100. - Contrary to the above, when the engine rotation shifts from the high speed range III to the medium speed range II and further to the low speed range I, the
actuator 20 operates in the reverse procedure to that of the above-described operation. In short, theactuator 20 located on the side in the plus direction of the home position rotates in the minus direction. - Next, main operation and effect in the
exhaust control device 10 of the present invention will be described. First, in the exhaust system from theexhaust pipes 117 to themuffler 118, theexhaust valves 15 attached to thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 and theexhaust valve 16 attached to the collectingpipe 139 are controlled to open and close by theactuator 20. Theexhaust control device 10 is structured such that two controlled object parts are not independently controlled but the two kinds ofexhaust valve 15 andexhaust valve 16 are controlled by thesingle actuator 20 as described above, thereby enabling reduction in the number of components in the device to simplify the device structure and reduction in cost. - In this case, the
exhaust valves 15 attached to thecommunication pipe 141 and thecommunication pipe 142 are actually controlled to open and close in the high speed range III of the engine, so that the exhaust pulsation at the engine high rotation can be effectively utilized. Further, in that case, theexhaust valves 15 attached to thecommunication pipe 141 communicating the #1 and #4 cylinders and to thecommunication pipe 142 communicating the #2 and #3 cylinders respectively are coaxially arranged. This makes it possible to actually improve the output while effectively utilizing the exhaust pulsation at the engine high rotation. - Further, the
exhaust valve 16 attached to the collectingpipe 139 is controlled to open and close from the low speed range I to the medium speed range II. This makes it possible to reduce exhaust resistance at the engine low rotation while effectively controlling the exhaust pulsation. - Further, with respect to the home position, the
actuator 20 operates theexhaust valves 15 in one rotational operation range (on the side in the minus direction) and operates theexhaust valve 16 in the other rotational operation range (on the side in the plus direction). By allocating rotation angles of theactuator 20 to theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16 which are the controlled objects, thesingle actuator 20 can appropriately and smoothly control the two kinds of controlled objects in an independent manner. - The rotation angle of the
actuator 20 is controlled according to the engine rotation number as has already been described, whereby theexhaust valves 15 are closed and theexhaust valve 16 is opened to a predetermined opening degree at the engine low rotation. When theexhaust valves 15 are closed, the exhaust pulsation at the low rotation is made appropriate to improve the output at low speed. Further, at the engine high rotation, theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16 are fully opened, thereby improving the reduction in exhaust pressure and making the exhaust pulsation comply with the high rotation range to improve the output. - Note that some modification examples and the like of the
exhaust control device 10 of the present invention will be described here. For example, theactuator unit 11 is disposed on a side surface part of themain frame 101 as illustrated inFig. 2 orFig. 3 but may also be arranged such that thewire 13 and thewire 14 have substantially equal lengths as inFig. 4 as another example. More specifically, the lengths of thewire 13 and thewire 14 can be made shortest by making distances A, B between theexhaust valve 15 and theexhaust valve 16 that are the connection destinations of thewire 13 and thewire 14 and theactuator unit 11 substantially equidistant as illustrated inFig. 4 . Then, the short lengths of thewire 13 and thewire 14 make the winding and reeling-out operations more smooth and reduce the device in weight. - Further, the reeling-out directions of the
wires actuator unit 11 may be the same direction or different directions from each other. For example, thewires actuator unit 11 in substantially the same direction in the exemplified example inFig. 2 . In addition to this case, in particular, thewire 14 connected to theexhaust valve 16 may be laid from theactuator unit 11 to the rear along themain frame 101 as illustrated inFig. 4 . The laying makes thewire 14 have an appropriate short length and is extremely advantageous in terms of layout. - As described above, the opening degree of the
exhaust valves 15 or theexhaust valve 16 is controlled according to the engine rotation number. The opening and closing speed when opening and closing theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16 corresponds to the angle of gradient of a graph in the exemplified example inFigs. 15A to 15C and the like, but the speed-up and speed-down can also be appropriately adjusted by drive control of the steppingmotor 21 by theactuator 20. The opening and closing timings of theexhaust valves 15 and theexhaust valve 16 can also be set as necessary. Further, the opening degrees may also be changed in a curved shape as a changed form, including the case where the opening degrees are linearly changed as in the exemplified example inFigs. 15A to 15C and the like. - The present invention has been described together with various embodiments hereinabove, but the present invention is not limited only to the embodiments but may be modified within the scope of the present invention.
- The exhaust control device of the present , invention is applicable to a multicylinder engine with two cylinders or four cylinders or more.
- Further, though the case of controlling two controlled objects such as the
exhaust valve 15 and theexhaust valve 16 has been described in the above embodiments, it is also possible to set third and fourth controlled objects by adding third and fourth pulleys similarly configured as described above. - According to the present invention, the exhaust control device is structured such that exhaust valves which are controlled object parts to be controlled to open and close are not independently controlled but controlled by a single actuator, thereby enabling reduction in the number of components in the device to simplify the device structure and reduction in cost.
- It should be noted that the above embodiments merely illustrate concrete examples of implementing the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not to be construed in a restrictive manner by these embodiments. That is, the present invention may be implemented in various forms without departing from the main features thereof.
Claims (2)
- An exhaust control device for an engine that performs exhaust control of an exhaust system composed of exhaust pipes (117A-117D) connected to a plurality of cylinders respectively and gathering to a collecting pipe (139), having at least two kinds of exhaust valves (15, 16) that perform the exhaust control at different parts in the exhaust system and driving the exhaust valves to open and close via a single actuator unit (11) comprising:a plurality of the communication pipes (141, 142) that communicate specified ones of the exhaust pipes (117A and 117D, 117B and 117C);first exhaust valves (15) attached to the communication pipes (141, 142) respectively andcoaxially arranged; anda second exhaust valve (16) attached to the collecting pipe (139, andcontrols opening/closing of the communication pipes (141, 142)/collecting pipe (139);wherein the first exhaust valves (15) and the second exhaust valve (16) are set such that the first exhaust valves (15) are closed and the second exhaust valve is opened to a half opening degree in an engine low rotation range,the first exhaust valves (15) and the second exhaust valve (16) are set such that the first exhaust valves (15) are closed and the second exhaust valve (16) is opened to a fully opening in an engine medium rotation range, andthe first exhaust valves (15) and the second exhaust valve (16) are set such that the second exhaust valve (16) is operated and the first exhaust valves (15) are fully opened in an engine high rotation range.
- The exhaust control device for an engine according to claim 1,
wherein the first exhaust valves (15) are driven to open and close in one rotational operation range of the actuator unit (11), and the second exhaust valve (16) is driven to open and close in another rotational operation range of the actuator unit (11).
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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JP2012029898A JP5895577B2 (en) | 2012-02-14 | 2012-02-14 | Engine exhaust control device |
Publications (2)
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EP2628921A1 EP2628921A1 (en) | 2013-08-21 |
EP2628921B1 true EP2628921B1 (en) | 2015-07-29 |
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EP13154782.0A Active EP2628921B1 (en) | 2012-02-14 | 2013-02-11 | Exhaust control device for engine |
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US (1) | US9617901B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2628921B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP5895577B2 (en) |
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JP2016053348A (en) * | 2014-09-04 | 2016-04-14 | スズキ株式会社 | Exhaust pipe valve system of internal combustion engine |
JP6551132B2 (en) | 2015-10-13 | 2019-07-31 | スズキ株式会社 | Engine exhaust control device |
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JP4474111B2 (en) | 2003-03-31 | 2010-06-02 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Motorcycle |
WO2007089771A2 (en) * | 2006-01-31 | 2007-08-09 | Borgwarner Inc. | Integrated egr valve and throttle valve |
JP4715573B2 (en) * | 2006-03-16 | 2011-07-06 | 日産自動車株式会社 | Exhaust system |
JP5015646B2 (en) * | 2007-03-30 | 2012-08-29 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Exhaust system for motorcycles |
DE102007026812A1 (en) * | 2007-06-06 | 2008-12-11 | J. Eberspächer GmbH & Co. KG | exhaust system |
-
2012
- 2012-02-14 JP JP2012029898A patent/JP5895577B2/en active Active
-
2013
- 2013-02-11 EP EP13154782.0A patent/EP2628921B1/en active Active
- 2013-02-11 ES ES13154782.0T patent/ES2551111T3/en active Active
- 2013-02-14 US US13/767,153 patent/US9617901B2/en active Active
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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US20130205760A1 (en) | 2013-08-15 |
EP2628921A1 (en) | 2013-08-21 |
ES2551111T3 (en) | 2015-11-16 |
JP2013167176A (en) | 2013-08-29 |
JP5895577B2 (en) | 2016-03-30 |
US9617901B2 (en) | 2017-04-11 |
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